Thursday, November 27, 2008

Lady Cop & Papa Crook (大搜查)

A tentative release date of December 24, 2008 in Mainland China has been set for the Sammi Cheng and Eason Chan starring Lady Cop & Papa Crook (大搜查). Eason Chan started promoting the film in Hong Kong yesterday and accepted interviews from the Mainland media. Due to an already packed December schedule, Eason will have to miss the Mainland premiere of this film. When speaking of the film, Eason immediately thanked directors Alan Mak and Felix Chong.

Director Felix Chong says he already eyed for Eason in 2006, "I was at one of his concerts where he wore a crow on top of his hat, at that moment I thought of Leslie Cheung. I'm not saying they look alike, it was their temperament that felt really close." Because of that feeling Felix Chong started thinking about writing a "Siu Sung" (小生) role for Eason, "When we were out drinking I told him I was looking for him to play the "Siu Sung" role, but he thought I was drunk," Felix says.

Eason's surprised reaction came about, as he put it himself, "Because I never thought someone would choose me to play a cool role. Since young, I thought the cool roles were played by actors such as Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, etc. I was sure they would not be played by Eason Chan."

Not yet seen the entire film, but seeing clips during dubbing, Eason expressed that he was already in shock, saying, "This was the first time I saw myself on the screen so cruel and so cool. I really need to thank directors Alan Mak, Felix Chong and the photographer. I am not Takeshi Kaneshiro, but the angle they used to film showed a handsome side. The photographer knew that if they filmed from an angle, the outline of Eason's face would be defined and he will look very cool."

Eason is also especially grateful towards the two directors for two scenes, scenes where Eason thought he didn't act well enough in, which ended up being two of the scenes in the film being praised. "I heard from friends, one scene where I was acting opposite my wife (Michelle Ye) and the other where I was acting opposite Sammi Cheng and honestly telling her my life story, that they thought I acted especially well in those scenes. Honestly, I had the most pressure during those two scenes," Eason says.